Fates Entwined
by StarSurfer6
Summary: It was supposed to be an easy job for Raven. Apprehend the woman, hand her over and get paid. At least, it would have been easy, if it had been an ordinary woman. But Arlynn Reenz was anything but ordinary. As their paths entwine, they are thrown into a chase that will lead to discoveries neither one wanted to find.
1. Chapter 1

The drell looked down his scope at his target. The salarian sat on a bench in the square and gestured wildly with is hands. The asari next to him studied her hails, but appeared to be listening. The red point of the laser sat on his forehead. Suddenly, the drell's vision as obscured by the sight of angry blue eyes. The drell looked up in surprise. With his naked eye he could see that a human had stepped in front of the salarian. He could tell that she could not see him, but she had obviously and defiantly stepped in front of his shot.

He looked back through his scope and zoomed out a bit. The woman crossed her arms over her chest and then glanced at her wrist as if to say that she could wait as long as he could. Her aqua eyes glared in his direction for a few tense moments before the drell relented. With a half-smile, he flipped off his scope and let his sniper rifle collapse into a rectangle that he stowed in a thick bag. Looking back down he could see that he woman still stood there, but she had dropped her defensive stance. That salarian would eventually die, but it would not be today and it would not be by the assassin's hand. With a small salute of respect, he turned and walked away.

Arlynn Reenz sat on the bench and studied the date pad in her hands. Her brows furrowe din anger as she read the lines. Before he had reached the end she pushed the off button with her thumb and stood. She wasn't sure where she was going, but she began walking. Words of the letter echoed in her mind. "It was your fault…" It hadn't been her fault… had it? Arlynn's feet slowed even as her mind raced, enveloping her in a memory she wanted to erase.

 _'The people thronged the streets, thick and congested. Arlynn tried to push her way through, but there were just so many people. Finally, she reached a clear spot. Around the fountain was empty of people. Except one. The man stared across the rippling waters at her. "NO!" he shouted desperately. He looked around and then up. "Run," he shouted. The man jumped into the water and splashed towards her. He jumped the small wall and grabbed her hand. Water sprayed everywhere as a shot rang out. People screamed. Panic and chaos erupted as people began running.'_

As if brought from her memory, a body slammed in to Arlynn. She stumbled and nearly lost her balance. "Excuse me," She said, too startled to be upset. Besides, she had been so involved in her memory she didn't know who hand run into whom.

"Forgive my clumsiness," the man said. He as a drell with dark red scales and black and grey ribbing. His clothes were loose fitting like most drell's, particularly around the chest and throat. With a bow of apology, he continued walking without even looking at her. Arlynn watched him leave. She was perplexed at his behavior and a bit embarrassed at her own. She bent to pick up her datapad which had been dropped in the collision. That was when she noticed the black cylinder. She picked it up and examined it. I looked like it attached to something. There was a lens on the end and a dark bulb beneath.

Arlynn looked around. She as certain that the drell had dropped it, but he was nowhere to be seen. She followed in the direction he had gone and searched the crowd. Drell were usually east to spot with their bright, contrasting scales and ribbing, but he was gone. People came and went, entering and exiting shops, boarding and landing rapid transit. The chaotic dance launched Arlynn into another memory.

 _'She weaved through the people gracefully, not touching a single one. Her cloak swished around her ankles and the hood hid her face in shadows. At last, she made it to the bridge. She leaned against the rail and let the hood fall from her head. The crystalline water flowed beneath the white stone. "Ms. Reenz?" a deep voice said from behind. She whirled around feeling startled and embarrassed at having been taken by surprise. The man was tall, even for a human with dark hair and eyes. Light, chocolate colored shin covered an obviously muscular frame. In a motion of self-consciousness, Arlynn smoothed her own dark red hair off her forehead and tucked it behind her ears. "Are you Ms. Reenz?" the man asked again in his deep voice._

 _"Yes, that's me. Do you work for Hearst?" she squared her shoulders and attempted to stand a bit taller. The man nodded and looked around._

 _"Hearst wants to see you, but it's not safe to discuss it here. Follow me." Without another word he turned on his heel and began to push through the crowd. People seemed to instinctively walk around him as if they knew that he was a man to be avoided. Arlynn took a deep breath, pulled her hood up and followed the large man.'_

A turian bumped into Arlynn, jolting her back the present. "Move it," he said angrily. His mandible clicked loudly.

"Why don't you watch where you're going?" she retorted. The turian mad a rude gesture before disappearing in the flow of bodies. Arlynn shook her head. That was twice that she had been run into and taken by surprise. It was obviously an off day for her. She was usually not so easily distracted, but she had already slipped into two memories in the last twenty minutes. Arlynn squared her shoulder and melted into the crowd.

Raven browsed the kiosk for a moment. They had good laser spotter for sale and the price wasn't too high. But he had liked his old scope. It had been custom made to fit his gun. It had a cost a fortune and would likely cost two to have it replaced. He sighed and turned from the kiosk. Maybe he could still find where he had lost it. Or at least look in the closest store. It was most likely that someone had found it and sold it to some high-end weapons dealer.

Absently, Raven rubbed his left shoulder. His best bet was to find that woman he had run into. She had probably seen it, even picked it up. Then again, she had seemed so absentminded there was a good chance she hadn't noticed the small black cylinder. Besides, it was unlikely she was even still on the Citadel. It had been nearly a week since they had collided and she hadn't looked like the kind of person that lived on the Citadel. Raven scowled as he made his way to his apartment. He hated so many variables. He rarely had to factor 'maybe' and 'probably' into his plans. He like dealing with cold hard facts. He wouldn't have thought one moment of impact could throw so many unknowns in to his life.

The door to his apartment hissed open as Raven entered and then locked the door behind him. He had barley taken two steps in to the room when his omnitool flashed brightly. Raven pushed a button and the glowing orange machine materialized on his forearm. A projection of a man popped up in from of him. "Did you get that thing I sent you?" the man asked.

"Good to see you too Ericson," Raven said.

"Skip the pleasantries, Raven. I know they're lies anyway. This is business. Someone wants you for a job."

"Someone always wants me for a job." Raven picked up the datapad from his desk. "The usual?" He asked, opening the new message from Ericson.

"No, actually it isn't your typical assignment. That's why I suggested you. I knew you were getting bored."

Raven glanced over the report. An anonymous client wanted him to apprehend a person of interest. "Apprehend? As in 'alive'? he raised an eyebrow. "They are aware of who I am, yes?"

"Yes, I told them about you and your skills. However, they've heard quite a bit about you. You have a reputation of getting the job done quickly and quietly. Which is exactly what they're looking for."

Raven continued to scan the information. The subject was female, five feet and seven inches tall, one hundred and thirty pounds, dark hair and blue eyes. Despite the vague description of the woman there was no picture to help fill in the gaps. "Is she dangerous?" Raven asked.

"She killed the last three agents sent to detain her. But they could have just been idiots."

"Or sloppy."

"Isn't that the same thing?"

Raven shrugged in agreement. "So, she's on the Citidal?"

"That's what the file says." Ericson shrugged.

"One of the few things it actually does say." Raven tossed the datapad on the desk. "And it _tells_ me even less. There are hundreds of women on this station that would match that description. Don't they have a picture? How do they expect me to find and get this woman if I don't even know what she looks like? They don't even give me a name."

Ericson heaved a sigh and then looked down. He pushed a few buttons on his omnitool. "I've sent you a picture, but if anyone asks, you didn't get it from me. This client is very particular and very rich. He was extremely explicit that you bring her in alive and without anyone knowing. Quick and quiet."

Raven nodded. "That's the only kind of work I do."

"Oh, and Raven," Ericson said. "Be careful. From everything I've heard, this job could be… interesting. Ericson out." The hologram withdrew into the omnitool and the orange tool blinked form Raven's forearm. The drell looked puzzlingly at the place where the projection had just stood. Could Ericson have been any more cryptic? Raven picked up the datapad again. The new message from Ericson pulsed slightly, showing that it was unopened. He hesitated for only a moment before opening the file.

The face staring up at him surprised him. It was beautiful, even to him, with the most unique color of eyes. They weren't blue, neither where they green, but an equal mix of both. She had dark red hair that framed a near symmetrical face. Her mouth was full, her nose straight and her neck long. But more that all that, what surprised him most was that he recognized her. It was the absent minded woman from the presidium. The one he had run into. Ericson was right. This job would be interesting. Best of all, Raven would get his laser spotter back.


	2. Chapter 2

Arlynn swiped her chit and watched the credit's tick away. She hated spending money. But a girl's got to eat. The clerk handed Arlynn the bag of groceries. She smiled and thanked the turian as she took the bag from him. Forcing herself to be calm and act normal, Arlynn walked casually from the store. What she really wanted to do was sprint. She had done this dozens of times without any incident, but today she had the uneasy feeling of being watched. It had begun as soon as she had entered the wards. The sooner she returned to her apartment in the presidium the better. There were too many hiding places in the market district. It would be far too easy for a Helix agent to hide in the shadows and watch, or jump out and grab her.

Arlynn looked over her shoulder as she rounded a corner. An opposing force stopped her in her tracks and caused her to drop the bag. The body she had just run in to apologized quickly and began to gather her scattered provisions. "I'm so sorry," the man said as he placed a loaf of bread back in the bag.

"No it's my fault. I wasn't…" she trailed off as she finally got a look at the man. It was a drell. The same drell she had bumped into three weeks ago. The one who had dropped the black cylinder that currently sat in a drawer in her kitchen. "I know you," she said.

"What?" The drell looked up. Recognition filled his expression. "Yes, I ran into you… what, two weeks away. It seems I am making a habit of it." He smiled slightly. Arlynn felt herself smile back as she stood with her now full bag. "I don't believe I apologized properly. Allow me to do so now." He made her a low bow. "My deepest apologies."

"That's not necessary," Arlynn said quickly. He straightened and looked at her. She squirmed a little and reached up to tuck some hair behind her ear. At the last moment she stopped and let her arm drop awkwardly.

"This may be a long shot, but did you see a black cylinder when we last bumped into each other?" he asked. "It was about this long." He held up his hands about four inches apart. Arlynn took a deep breath and stood a little taller.

"Yes, actually I did see it. I picked it up." The drell's dark eyes lit up.

"I don't suppose you still have it?"

"Actually, I do." Arlynn said hesitantly. The drell sighed in relief and he smiled again.

"You don't know how much trouble you saved me. I thought I would have to browse every store to find a replacement. I don't suppose you have it with you?" Arlynn just shook her head and the drell's shoulders drooped in disappointment. "I thought that would be too much to hope for."

"I don't even know why I kept it. I didn't think I'd ever run into you again," she said impulsively. She quickly bit her tongue from any rambling.

"Well, I shall count myself lucky that you did. Quite literally, in fact." He gave her a sly smile. To Arlynn's surprise, she felt her cheeks grow warm in a blush. "Perhaps I could accompany you home and you could return it," he suggested.

Red warning flags went off all over in Arlynn's mind. _'Just get a good mailing address and tell him you will send it to him,'_ a little voice in her head said. She quickly back peddled. "No," she said a bit too forcefully. The drell seemed taken aback. "I mean, I don't think that would be a good idea," she said a bit gentler. "Maybe you could just give me your address and I'll mail it to your apartment… or ship. Or whatever." This time it was the drell that hesitated.

"No, I don't think that would work either. It is a very expensive item, you see, and I wouldn't trust it to arrive." He reached up and rubbed his left shoulder. "Hmm…" he mused as his scaly fingers massaged the joint. "Would you be willing to meet somewhere?" He asked Arlynn thought about it for a moment. If it was somewhere public either lots of people, she thought it might be alright. Finally, she nodded slowly. "Do you know the bar purgatory?" he asked. Arlynn nodded again. She would have liked to pick the place, but at the moment she couldn't think of a single place. "Excellent. We could meet there tonight, hopefully without running into each other. You could give me my cylinder and I could buy you a drink as thanks."

"Alright," she agreed, albeit a bit hesitantly. She gave him a polite smile and shoved her fear aside. "I'll see you tonight, then."

"Until tonight." He gave her a small bow and then walked around her and melted into the crowds. Arlynn watched him go for as long as she could. When he was out of sight she briskly made her way to her apartment. Once inside the safety of her house, she locked the doors and sighed in relief. She placed her bag of food on the counter and then pulled the drawer open. The black cylinder rolled backwards with the momentum.

Arlynn picked it up and studied it closely. She noticed a small button and with some hesitation she pushed it. Her suspicion was confirmed as a thin red laser shot out the end. Arlynn dropped the laser onto the counter. Pieces began to fall together in her head. Helix had always attempted to bring her in alive, but perhaps he had finally grown tired of the chase. Arlynn didn't know what Helix's intentions were, but she at least knew one thing; that drell was an assassin


End file.
